


To the One I Love

by vasaris



Category: Captain America (Movies), captain america: civil war - Fandom
Genre: Angst, GFY, Gen, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 04:11:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7829950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vasaris/pseuds/vasaris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He already knows what's in the box.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the One I Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyMaya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMaya/gifts).



> It's all LadyMaya's fault.

Steve feels the the comforting throb on his finger up to the moment the Wakandan king seals Bucky away, cold and alone in a vibranium sepulcher. The moment the the last seal hisses closed, the ring Tony gave him falls still, cooling unnaturally quickly in the equatorial air.

"Is something wrong, Captain Rogers?" T'Challa's low voice rumbles through him, and Steve looks down, finding his fists clenched tight enough he half expects bone to split through skin.

Steve is terrified. The only reason for the ring to fall quiet is the stilling of a single, well loved heart. He and Tony have worn the rings, each thrumming with the other's heartbeat, ever since Steve awoke from a screaming nightmare where he was all alone.

"Your majesty." A lovely young woman, one of the elite warriors of T'Challa's personal guard, walks in. In her hand rests a small box of worn cedar. On the lid he can see the remnants of one of the old Stark logos, time-smooth like burnished silk.

"This is come for you, captain," the woman's hands hold the box out, steady as mountains.

Steve takes it. He already knows what's inside. The lid lifts, his fingers moving against his volition, revealing a smooth, vibranium ring, etched with gold.

"For my love. For yours. -- S"

This isn't the neat, delicate hand of the builder, it's the broken scrawl of the man who lives inside the engineer's brilliant, shadowed mind. There can be no doubt what Tony -- what Stark -- means.

Cap stares at the ring, feeling the silence weigh down. Even if they put the ring on Bucky, his heartbeat is so slow and faint Steve will never feel it.

"This one goes out to the one I love," the radio croons, crackling to life. "This one goes out to the one I left behind. A simple prop to occupy my time. This one goes out to the one I love..."

Steve remembers the comforting throb of Tony's heartbeat, pulsing against his ring finger in a bright tattoo, and looks at the empty silence cupped in hand. He'll never feel that beat again, never lay his ear on Tony's chest and listen to the deep, thudding song.

"Captain?"

Steve can barely hear above the roaring of his blood -- or the silence of his tears.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this product: http://www.higherperspectives.com/heartbeat-ring-1969018894.html?utm_source=cleo&utm_content=inf_10_34_2&tse_id=INF_fc7a3d00648b11e6b10b5d9a0843669a, a ring that lets you feel the heartbeat of the person wearing the matching one.


End file.
